Social media offers customers an efficient way to move tangible goods (think Facebook buy/sell groups), engage with each other on a daily basis and share information about which services, products and companies are beneficial to their lives and, perhaps more importantly, which are not. However, developing a social media content strategy that works requires more effort than just opening Facebook and Twitter accounts.
There are certain strategiesthat successful businesses use to create an engaging community with their social media that not only grows their online presence, but also their business. When social media outlets are managed effectively, businesses have the opportunity to have a global customer base no matter where they are located.
Here are 5 tips that can help you develop a social media strategy that will give your business the best chance of success.
Determine your target audience and establish appropriate connections
At the top of the list for a successful social media strategy is determining your target audience. For example, if your business primarily provides parenting information for parents and parents-to-be, it's best to search for keywords such as mum, dad, father, etc. when looking for who to follow on Twitter and other social media accounts.
The people who will join your social media groups and who are most interested in your information (and most willing to share your information with others) are those whose interests align with those of your business. As you begin to develop your social media strategy, start by making a list of the customers you want to target and engage with, and then use this list as a guide to help you create your content and grow your social media presence effectively.
Publish valuable content
It's important that you don't post on social media accounts without a well-thought-out strategy. In order for people to be interested in a company's social media accounts, business owners need to create content that provides value to the reader. As a rule, readers and followers of social media accounts search for information on social media accounts that interests them:
- Teach them something they want to know
- Save them something, be it time, money or comfort
- Offer entertainment
- Give them the feeling of being part of something
You can also use a plugin such as the Easy Media Gallery Pro Plugin create engaging photos to accompany your posts to drive more customers to your website. If you keep these tips in mind when creating content for your social media and write your content in a way that is engaging and entertaining for readers, your followers will keep coming back to you, you'll encourage your followers to share your content with others, and you'll keep your business at the forefront of your followers' minds.
It is also important that you publish your valuable content regularly. Don't let more than a day go by without being active on your social media accounts. The more time that passes between posts, the more time your customers have to forget about your company and move on to other things.
Create a captivating atmosphere with your followers
Part of a successful social media strategy is creating an engaging atmosphere for your followers. If readers feel like they are part of a group and if they can identify with or benefit from the content you publish, they are more likely to leave comments, share posts and encourage friends to follow you too.
Building a relationship with your followers keeps them engaged and actively involved in your organisation's activities. Businesses can build a relationship with their followers on social media by responding to comments, asking questions, soliciting opinions from followers and sharing content that touches the heart. Implement these tips for engaging readers and watch your social media channels grow.
Commit yourself to exemplary service
All the great content in the world will do you little good if your organisation has a reputation for providing anything less than outstanding service. However, offering a valuable product or service is important. If you treat your customers like royalty, it will be engraved in their hearts for years to come. In today's world of timeliness and information sharing, customers no longer have to take the time to write a letter to a company's CEO about how they were poorly served.
"A single complaining tweet can turn into a million customers and potential customers within minutes."
Don't give your customers a reason to tweet or post negative experiences about their dealings with you. Instead, train your team to remember that top-notch customer service along with your best product is the surest path to success, and reward your team members accordingly when they provide exemplary customer service to your customers.
Use the feedback from your customers
Too many companies ignore customers who want to share a bad experience, and when that happens, customers have a bad image of that company. Should the case arise (and your number one goal should be to prevent this from happening) that a customer has a bad experience with your business, you need to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to resolve the issue and make the customer as happy as possible. Replacement products, free products, discounts and heartfelt apologies with a quick and comprehensive resolution are all ways you can turn a customer's bad experience back into a good one.
The same goes for customers who give you feedback on how you can improve your product or service. When a customer takes the time to share an idea or suggest how you can improve your business, it's important that you as a business owner or manager respond promptly with a positive response. Paying attention to your customers' feedback and using that feedback to keep your customers happy and sharing their good experiences about your business on social media can help your business continue to grow and thrive.
Social media marketing may be the "wave of the future" for some companies, but the fact is that social media is one of the most important forms of advertising today. Don't let your business fall behind just because your competitors know how to effectively attract and retain customers through social media channels and you don't. Instead, stay ahead of the game by learning to create content and connections on social media that allow people to see your business for the gem that it truly is.
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